Industrialized Farming

You realize that your fridge is completely empty and run to the grocery store. ALL the shelves are empty and bare. Without industrialized farming, that would be a common situation many families face today. With the industrialization, less and less number of families have to live and work a farm. But does this industrialization benefit our healths? Not all the time.

Farms have now become large scale. Therefore, they are trying to produce as much of their product in a day as they can. A few years ago, there was a big scare that E. Coli was being transmitted to many people byt eh cattle feces that snuck their way into our hamburgers. Instead of making sure to clean the floors and areas around the meat, they just chose to sanitize the feces in the meat. Surprisingly, E. Coli was unknown before 1982. E. Coli is a microbe that thrives in the habitat of a cow's rumen. This ideal habitat is created in the cow when it has a diet of grains instead of grass. Then the manure from these cows contain the harmful E. Coli microbes, and other chemicals that allow the cows to survive the grain lifestyle, end up becoming pollutants instead of fertilizer.

There was also the E. Coli scare with the pre-packaged and washed spinach leaves. When the spinach is being packaged, leaves from many different places are brought together and washed in the same water. That way, if one leaf was contaminated, not all the leaves were contaminated and spread to the whole nation. The Center for Disease Control now estimates 76 million Americans get sick each year from the food supply, while 300,000 are hospitalized and 5,000 die.

A way to reverse the negative aspects of industrialized farming is to keep local farmers in business. By doing so, we can pinpoint where the contamination came from, if there was any. Not as many people will be affected by a contamination because only the people in that area are consuming the food. Because the larger industries are trting to accomplish a lot in a short time period, the risks of contamination are greater and can cause many more problems than for local farmers. Also, the produce does not have to be transported far or keep fresh for a longer period of time. As for the E. Coli found in the cattle, by keeping the cattle in a field eating grass, we are reducing the risk of contracting E. Coli. These microbes cannot survive in the stomach of a cattle eating grass. Also, the manure produced becomes a part of the natural cycle, the crops feed the cattle while the cattles' manure feeds the crops. By returning to the way things used to be, many health issues are avoided.

Soy and a Healthy Diet

Recently, the public has been hearing a lot more about soy, and the benefits to your health. Others argue that soy is extremely harmful to our helth. Soy contains many potent toxins including phytic acid, trypsin inhibitors, toxic lysinoalanine, and highly carcinogenic nitrosamines. Although companies who use soy know of all the harmful toxins, they do not remove them from the soy before using them in their products. Studies show that male infants feed solely on soy formula ended up underdeveloped while female infants were seen to be prematurely developed. These infants also had 13,000-22,000 more estrogen compounds in their bodies. That many estrogen compounds is the same as five birth control pills!! Also, soy formula for infants has been linked to autoimmune thyroid disease. It is also linked to thyroid cancer, infertility, breast cancer, and hypothyroidism.

But on the other hand, there are those many healthy benefits that are widely believed true. Many of the benefits include heart health, preventing cancer, strong and healthy bones, and reducing menopausal symptoms in older women. Soybeans are also rich in many vitamins and minerals, including: calcium, iron, zinc, phosphorus, omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, B-vitamins, and magnesium. It is the only vegetable source of all amino acids and contains a lot of protein. In the middle of the 1990's, a study showed that soybeans also can help lower cholesterol. Trigylceride levels are lowered by the soy protein while the HDL cholesterol is maintained. And in 1999, the FDA even put up a health claim that lends a helping hand in proving that soy consumed is healthy for you. It reads...

Health Claim:Diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol that include 25 grams of soy protein a day may reduce the risk of heart disease. One serving of [name of produce] provides [amount]g of soy protein.

Personally, I had not known that soy was dangerous to our health until I read what our new post was to be about. Therefore, I am not so sure that I believe soy is as harmful as everyone seems to make it out to be. With technology making keeping things quiet, I believe that if soy was a serious threat, I would have already heard about it. Also, growing up in a household where Japanese food is in abundance, I have been exposed to tofu and other soy products from a very young age. If I do say so myself, I don't believe I have any of the problems linked with infants and children. I don't know if that's because companies treated soy differently 16 years ago, or just because soy does not contain all the harmful toxins people believe it does. I believe the latter. Also, I am pretty sure that the oldest living man is a Japanese man. Most all Japanese people eat tofu and many, many, many other soy products throughout their whole lives. Yet they are able to live happy, healthy, and long lives. Vegeterians/vegans also consume soy as an alternative. So many people consume soy that if it were actually extremely harmful to our health, it would be a lot bigger news.

Resolving Conflicts

A conflict is described as an incompatibility of goals and values between two or more parties in a relationship, resulting in the other trying to control the other party or holding a grudge. Many times these conflicts end up being forgotten and are caused by petty disagreements in someone's relationship. Other times these disagreements are too severe to be forgotten. If that ever occurs, the collaboration method to resolving the disagreement is available.

In this method, the parties butting heads are expected to come together and discuss. By discussing, they are letting the other side know about their abilities, values, and expertise. Therefore, what each party is aiming for is made extremely clear. This method maximizes both sides' goals. Most of you may recognize this method of resolving conflicts as the win/win approach. When using this method, it must be remembered by both parties that they are not fighting a war against each other; they are just trying to fin the best way to resolve their differences.
Just remember, it's...

WE (BOTH PARTIES) vs. THE PROBLEM

NOT

YOU (ONE PARTY) vs. THEM (the other party)

When using this method, these steps need to occur...

1. Two parties come together.

2. They discuss and state their goals.

3. Define and analyze the problem.

4. Brainstorm alternate solutions that emphasize well-being of both parties.

I think this method of conflict resoltuion could be effective when the two groups are willing to sit down and discuss what their problem is. They also have to be able to work towards a common solution that benefits both sides. Sometimes it may be helpful to have a person in the middle who isn't involved in the problem, a third-party observer. This intermediate person cannot be the best friend of one party because then they may take sides. But for some conflicts, I feel there may be no solutions that excentuate a solution beneficial to both sides. For example, if a child disobeys a rule enforced by their parents, they may believe that they did othing wrong and attempt to lessen the punishment. But for situations like this, the child and parents cannot come together and discuss a solution that benefits both sides. Otherwise, the punishment would not be a punishment, and the child will start to believe they can get away with something similar to their disobedient act again. For many situations, I think it is the best idea to satisfy the wishes of both sides and make the situation a win/win solution.

Decision Making Models

The other day in class, we learned a great tool to help us make the right decisions. This tool was the GREAT decision making model.

Give thought to the problem. Do not impulsively make a decision. The consequences may not be rewarding and cause you to regret your decisions.

Review the choices. Come up with a list of ways to handle the situation.

Evaluate the consequences of each choice. This is the time to start thinking of what would the short-term and long-term consequences be if I choose choice A or if I choose choice B.

Assess and choose the best choice. Now, pick the choice that you feel is best for handling the situation.

Think it over afterwards. Reflect on the choice you made. Do you regret it? Could you have picked a better choice? Are you happy and know that you did the right thing?

The steps above are for the GREAT decision making model. Here are two other decision making models. The first one is called the Six Thinking Hats.

The Six Thinking Hat model involves the different colors shown in the picture to the right.

The white is for the observer, and the facts, rumors, and figures involved in making a good. This is using the information that is available to you.

The yellow hat is for the positives, benefits, pluses, and optimisim in the situation. Yellow symbolizes the sun, and is for the logical positive view.

The black hat is for the downside to the situation, the logical negative aspect, judgemental, and critical. This hat focuses on the,"what could go wrong?"

Red is for the emotions, hunches, and intuition that you have. It symbolizes warmth and fire. You believe something without any explanation.

Green is for the new ides and variations, possibilities, and being creative. This color symbolizes vegetation.

Blue is for the controler/conductor, the one organizing the thinking, choices, and conclusions. Like the blue sky, it is overviewing the process.

The next model, called the rational decsion making model, is summarized in the following diagram.

I think all three models for decision making are rather similar. Thay all help us find a way to make the best choice for us and our morals. They all want us to define the problem, and develop the choices that we have for handling this problem. Also, all three models have us look at the pros, cons, and consequences for each choice. In the end, each model has us decide which choice is best based on the information we had previously looked and found.

Although the three models have similarities, they are also very different. The Six Thinking Hats and the Rational Decision Making Model both have six steps, but the GREAT Decision Making model only has five steps. The GREAT Decision Making Model has s thnking over the choice we made at the end, while neither of the other ones have us reflecting on what we decided. The Six Thinking Hats model is also rather confusing to follow. The steps never clearly seem to describe what you should do when you are stuck with a problem. This model is meant for a group situation where everyone is able to say what they would like without running the risk of offending another member of the conversation. This aspect of the model differs from the others because it is a group decision making model. I assume that you can do the whole process on your own, but it is more effective with other members.

Personally, I view the GREAT Decision Making Model to be the most effective and easiest to use. This model is so much easier to remember compared to the other two models that I found. You have an acronym sitting in front of you, detailing the steps you must make to come up with the best and, hopefully, right choice to your problem. I also feel that the model is easiest to understand how to use, and is a good tool for teenagers.